Around the world, the koto and shakuhachi are known as typical Japanese instruments. And the theatrical forms of classical Noh, Kabuki and the Bunraku puppet theater, all forms where music plays a very important part, have international fame as well. Ancient court music or Gagaku came to Japan from the Asian continent along with religion and a system of government with the establishment of a state centered on the imperial house. It is still preserved in Japan long after it has disappeared in the countries of its origin. In the middle ages, Noh emerged as a masked drama with recitations of dense poetic texts accompanied by a very spare percussion and flute ensemble. Then, in the early modern period, a vibrant commoner culture seething with energy underneath the dominant warrior class found its expression in the exuberant Kabuki theater and the intense, sophisticated drama of the puppet theater. For contemporary Japanese, even though all of these traditional forms of music are overshadowed by more popular western style, they continue to be.
